The goodies that Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced in his Budget speech on Tuesday (Feb 18) had new homeowner Astrid Yan feeling like it is Chinese New Year again. «I was like, 'wow, I guess that's an additional ang pow to be collected across the year,» she said about the $600 and $800 in SG60 and Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers respectively. PM Wong, who is also finance minister, said the Budget is one for the future and that «no will be left behind». It is jam-packed with announcements from schemes to help lower-wage workers to encouraging Singaporeans to have three or more children. Yan is one of the Singaporeans AsiaOne interviewed to share their thoughts on Budget 2025. . 'A gift and blessing' Yan is moving into a new Build-To-Order (BTO) flat in Kallang in May - the same month that the first $500 in CDC Voucher will be disbursed. The 30-year-old in the sales industry also said that the SG60 voucher «is a great thing for all Singaporeans».

Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) secretary-general Chee Soon Juan plans to contest for the Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency (SMC) again in the upcoming general election and will be holding fundraising dinners at his restaurant, Orange & Teal, until Feb 26. Dr Chee, who had previously contested in Bukit Batok SMC, lost to PAP MP Murali Pillai during the 2020 general elections. The former had garnered 45.2 per cent of votes, while Pillai received 54.8 per cent. In a video posted to Facebook on Wednesday (Feb 19), Dr Chee criticised Singapore's existing approach to education and immigration while laying out SDP's alternative policies. Suggestions such as scrapping the Primary School Leaving Examination and reducing class sizes to 20 students per teacher were brought up during the over eight-minute clip. «There is no new, bold thinking to tackle the problems that our society faces,» said Dr Chee. «The PAP will not reform itself. Singaporeans will have to step in to get the job done. And there is no more crucial, more urgent time than this coming election.»

SINGAPORE — By making amendments on Microsoft Excel files used for payrolls, a woman working at a fintech company committed cheating linked to more than $5.7 million, mostly relating to cryptocurrency. On Feb 20, Ho Kai Xin, 32, was sentenced to nine years and 11 months' jail after she pleaded guilty to five cheating charges, eight counts of dealing with the benefits of criminal conduct, and one count of giving false information to a public servant. Thirty other charges were considered during her sentencing. In January, the Singaporean was given six weeks' jail for contempt of court after spending the ill-gotten funds despite being ordered not to do so. Ho will start serving her longer sentence after completing her earlier one. The prosecution said she had used her ill-gotten gains to live a lavish lifestyle, including placing a down payment of nearly $750,000 for a penthouse in Gilstead Road near Dunearn Road worth more than $3.7 million. She also bought sunglasses, bags, shoes, shirts and rings from luxury brand Louis Vuitton, each costing thousands of dollars, Deputy Public Prosecutor Jeremy Bin told the court.

A truck driver fled the scene of an accident after colliding with two motorcyclists on Monday night (Feb 17). The accident occurred along Seletar Expressway (SLE) towards Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) at around 10.35pm.  Two male riders and one female pillion, aged between 20 and 35, were conveyed conscious to Khoo Teck Puat hospital, the police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told AsiaOne. In a video uploaded to SG Road Vigilante's Facebook page, a truck can be seen signalling to change lanes to avoid some roadworks ahead of its lane.   https://www.facebook.com/trafficspore/videos/914169733927625/  As the truck merged into the rightmost lane, a motorcycle with a pillion rider on that lane tried to slow down to avoid the truck.  Unfortunately, another motorcyclist who was following closely behind crashed into the first bike. After the impact, the truck driver continued on their way.

A 10-year-old girl attending a swimming lesson at a Queenstown condominium was injured when pebbles thrown from the 11th storey struck her on the head. The incident occurred at the seventh-floor swimming pool of Queen's Peak condominium on Sunday (Feb 16). There were around 10 other children attending swimming lessons in the pool at the time, according to Zhuang (transliteration), the mother of the injured girl, who spoke with Shin Min. She recounted hearing a loud noise and seeing an unknown object fall into the pool during the lesson. It was only after more objects started falling that the surrounding parents called for their children to get out of the pool. Zhuang was unaware of her daughter's injury until she complained of pain on her forehead. Upon further inspection, she found that her daughter's left forehead was scratched and swollen, reported Shin Min.  Zhuang later found out that her daughter had been hit by pebbles, some which were around 7cm in diameter. There were around four pebbles, some of which had landed in the pool, while others landed on the edge of the pool.

SINGAPORE – Some School of the Arts (Sota) students who consumed ready-to-eat (RTE) meals distributed as part of Total Defence activities have come down with food poisoning symptoms. On Feb 19, Sota said it had received feedback that some of its students became unwell after consuming the food, and that the school is investigating the incident with the relevant authorities. As a precautionary measure, students with unconsumed RTE meals should return them, said Sota’s vice-principal Ann Tan in an e-mail to parents seen by The Straits Times. Ms Tan urged students who became unwell after consuming the food, which had been distributed during Sota’s food resilience preparedness programme on Feb 18, to seek medical attention. In a joint statement, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Ministry of Education (MOE), Ministry of Health and food solutions provider Sats, which produced the meals, said they are investigating the gastroenteritis cases reported at Sota by students who had consumed the RTE meals as part of the school’s Total Defence activities.

Stay in the know with a recap of our top stories today. 1. Cat A COE premiums rise sharply in second bidding exercise for February 2025 Category A Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums saw a sharp rise in the second bidding exercise for February 2025, reversing the downward trend that was seen in the past three exercises... » READ MORE 2. 'I've to legally adopt my own daughter': Actress Shirli Ling shares little-known fact about kids born out of wedlock

The police intend to designate two rally sites for each Group Representation Constituency (GRC) and one for each Single Member Constituency (SMC) in the upcoming General Election (GE), Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling said in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 18). One rally site will also be designated for lunchtime rallies, Sun also said. She was responding to a question posed by Opposition Leader Pritam Singh, who asked how many physical rally sites will be available for the upcoming GE. In his question, Singh also asked how soon the list of sites will be available and whether the Elections Department (ELD) can release the list of physical rally sites when the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) submits its report to Parliament. In her reply, Sun said that the list of rally sites will be made available at the end of nomination proceedings on Nomination Day.  «This is consistent with the approach taken for the Parliamentary General Elections with physical rallies held in 2011 and 2015,» she added. No physical rallies were allowed in GE2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

For the first time, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will be hiring foreigners as paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to attend to 995 calls. This will help bolster the SCDF's 24-hour Emergency Medical Services (EMS), which currently has 95 operational ambulances, with plans to expand its fleet to meet the rising demand due to Singapore's ageing population. Hiring foreigners will also address the shortage of local manpower that SCDF is facing when it comes to paramedics and EMTs. An EMS crew usually consists of one paramedic and two EMTs. On Tuesday (Feb 18), Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim announced that the SCDF plans to begin hiring foreigners, mainly from Asean countries, in March. Speaking during an appreciation event for SCDF responders, partner and volunteers, he said that the SCDF EMS strives to reach a patient as soon as possible, aiming to respond to 80 per cent of all emergency medical calls within 11 minutes.

SINGAPORE — From Feb 19, companies will have to keep their private-hire cars (PHCs) meant for ride-hailing services for three years before the cars can be converted out of the scheme or transferred to individuals. In a statement on Feb 19, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the move is meant to stabilise the supply of vehicles used to provide ride-hailing services. The agency said the imposition of the three-year lock-in period will ensure that companies which acquire such vehicles will predominantly lease them to drivers providing ride-hailing services. It will also prevent businesses from converting the cars out of the chauffeured private-hire car scheme prematurely, affecting the supply of such cars providing point-to-point transport services on the market. Before this, there were no restrictions on such conversions. Taxis, in contrast, cannot be sold as or converted into private cars.

Budget 2025 is one for all Singaporeans, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 18). In his first Budget speech as head of government, PM Wong started off by saying that Singapore's economy grew by 4.4 per cent and the median income of workers rose by 3.4 per cent above inflation. A «good momentum» aside, he added that it comes amid «greater global certainty». «But we can look ahead with a degree of confidence. Singapore today is far stronger than we were 60 years ago,» said PM Wong. «This Budget builds on previous Budgets, not only to address today's challenges, but to plan ahead and secure Singapore's future.» Here are some of the key announcements from Budget 2025. Easing Singaporeans' cost of living concerns  Singaporeans will get a mix of vouchers, rebates and credits to help them cope with the rising cost of living. In his Budget speech in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 18), Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong acknowledged that Singaporeans have had to «tighten their belts» amid the «new price realities» despite inflation expecting to ease further this year.

Singaporeans can look forward to up to $800 in vouchers in celebration of the nation's 60th birthday. During his Budget 2025 speech on Tuesday (Feb 18), Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong announced the SG60 package which aims to «recognise the contributions of all Singaporeans» and share the benefits of the nation's progress. All Singaporeans aged 21 and above will receive SG60 vouchers across the month of July as part of the package. Those aged 21 to 59 will receive $600 in vouchers while those 60 and older will get $800. Like the CDC vouchers, half of these SG60 vouchers will be set aside for use at supermarkets and the other half for heartland merchants. These vouchers will be valid for use at all businesses that accept CDC vouchers and will be valid until December 2026. Singaporeans will also be entitled to a personal income tax rebate of 60 per cent for the year of assessment 2025, said PM Wong. The rebate will be capped at $200 to mostly benefit the middle-income workers, he added.

«Having children isn't just about bringing them into the world; it's a lifelong responsibility, or at least until they reach adulthood,» said Desiree Leung, a mother of three. For the 30-year-old Leung, that responsibility is also a strain on her financial resources - a constant concern for her despite having a husband who's also in the workforce. «We don't believe that we should cut back on spending what we should for the kids. We believe in increasing our earnings… that's why we can push ourselves to earn what we need to provide the family,» she said. However, her eldest child's Child Development Account (CDA) is depleting, so she hopes the government can provide additional bonuses - not just for her eldest, but also for her other children. Thankfully, some of her worries were allayed on Tuesday - Leung's family and many others in Singapore will be given $500 worth of Child LifeSG Credits as a one-off provision for each of their Singaporean children up to 12 years old, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced during Budget 2025 on Tuesday (Feb 18).

Former Olympic swimmer Mark Chay will take the helm at the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) as their new secretary-general come April 1. Chay's new appointment was announced on Tuesday (Feb 18) in a press release from the SNOC.  Chay will be taking over the post from veteran administrator Chris Chan, who will be retiring after 23 years.  At the same time, Chay will be stepping down from his current role as SNOC vice-president. The 43-year-old former national athlete has represented Singapore on the global stage at the Olympic, Asian, Southeast Asian, and Commonwealth Games. Aside from bringing firsthand experience as an athlete, he has also demonstrated strong leadership in sports governance as president of Singapore Aquatics, the press release stated. Chay, who'd previously served as a Nominated Member of Parliament, was also a coach for seven-time Paralympic gold medallist, Yip Pin Xiu, from 2019 to 2022. The SNOC had engaged a consultancy firm to look for suitable candidates before deciding on Chay, reported The Straits Times.

SINGAPORE — Lawyer Lim Tean was sentenced to six weeks' jail and a fine of $1,000 on Feb 17 after attending court hearings on behalf of his clients on 32 occasions without a practising certificate between April 1 and June 9, 2021. Before handing down the sentence, Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun said Lim has not shown any remorse and had practised as an unauthorised person during that time. The judge also said that a deterrent sentence was «desirable» to discourage others from committing similar offences. In July 2024, the 60-year-old opposition politician was convicted of three charges under the Legal Profession Act after a trial. In earlier proceedings, Judge Ong said that it was not disputed that Lim was issued a practising certificate dated June 10, 2021, which came into force that day. With this conviction, the founder of the Peoples Voice party still has pending charges for offences that include criminal breach of trust. These charges will be dealt with at a later date.

Workers' Party (WP) chief and Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh has confirmed that he intends to contest in the upcoming General Election. This is consistent with advice he has received that he will not be disqualified from being a member of parliament, Singh said while speaking to media outside the State Courts after his sentencing. On Monday (Feb 17), the WP chief was handed a fine of $7,000 per charge after he was found guilty of two charges of lying to a parliamentary committee. Principal District Judge Luke Tan imposed the maximum fine, saying: «The court must send a message on the importance of giving truthful information when under oath and this can be done by imposing the maximum fine, especially in a case such as this.» 

[UPDATE 12.20pm] Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh has been found guilty of lying to the Committee of Privileges (COP) over former WP MP Raeesah Khan's lie in Parliament. He has been convicted of two charges of falsely testifying during the COP hearings in December 2021. Arguing for the maximum fine of $7,000 on each charge for Singh, the prosecution pointed out that he is the Leader of the Opposition, the Workers' Party's secretary-general as well as a lawyer. Deputy Chief Prosecutor Wong Woon Kwong said that Singh lied to the COP to «protect his own political capital by throwing Khan and his own political cadres under the bus». Singh doubled down on his lie in court and showed no remorse, DCP Wong added. The prosecution also said that Singh's actions did not warrant a jail term as no «appreciable harm» was caused. On the other hand, Singh's lawyer Jumabhoy argued against the maximum fine, saying that each charge deserves no more than a fine of $4,000.